SOAS on strike: Why are university staff refusing to work?

Support us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! UK university students pay almost £10,000 per year, and international students about four times the amount. Tuition fees have skyrocketed over the past generation. So has the number of higher-paying, international students attending. So where is all the money going? Has the quality of education improved with the cost? Have more staff been hired to cope with the workload? Or are existing staff being paid more to carry it? According to tutors at SOAS, PhD students are being exploited for cheap labour, and are often expected to work for free or without valid contracts. Meanwhile, growing profits are reportedly being used to shut down those pointing out injustice. This week, we investigate an unreported story that shines light on today’s fractional labour movement, the commodification of education, and the paradoxes of economic migration. The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mathildamall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The music is by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok ⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

The multi award-winning investigative and current affairs podcast: this is news that starts with the people who are normally asked last. Media Storm is an essential guide to today’s chaotic clickbait climate. Every week, journalists Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia storm through the headlines, and seeking out the voices of the most important (and most overlooked) people in the story: the ones living it.  From ‘illegal immigrants’ to sex workers, strikers to prisoners, indigenous groups to trans people, many communities caught in the eye of the media storm are denied a fair voice in the coverage around them. Media Storm restores ‘right of reply’ to underrepresented minorities and equips listeners to take the mainstream media with a pinch of salt. It's your weekly current affairs round-up - but not as you know it. Featuring cross-platform comparisons, shrewd bullsh*t-radars, and finding the facts behind the fear-mongering, Media Storm is guaranteed to leave you with plenty to talk about. Become a supporter: patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast